Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain

(A Boston Globe and Houston Chronicle Best Book of 2011) If the conscious mind—the part that you consider to be you—is just the tip of the iceberg in the functioning of your brain, what is the rest of it doing? In this engaging and provocative book, neuroscientist David Eagleman navigates the depths of the subconscious brain to illuminate its surprising mysteries. How is your brain like a conflicted democracy engaged in civil war? Why can your foot move halfway to the brake pedal before you become consciously aware of danger ahead? What do Odysseus and the subprime mortgage meltdown have in common? And why is it so difficult to keep a secret? Taking in brain damage, plane spotting, dating, drugs, beauty, infidelity, synesthesia, criminal law, artificial intelligence, and visual illusions, Eagleman conducts a thrilling subsurface exploration of the mind and all its contradictions.

"Incognito proposes a grand new account of the relationship between consciousness and the brain. It is full of dazzling ideas, as it is chockablock with facts and instances."—NYObserver

"Although Incognito is fast-paced, mind-bending stuff, it's a book for regular folks. Eagleman does a brilliant job refining heavy science into a compelling read. He is a gifted writer."—Houston Chronicle

"Eagleman has a talent for testing the untestable, for taking seemingly sophomoric notions and using them to nail down the slippery stuff of consciousness."—The New Yorker